1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to devices for holding eyeglasses and the like securely in place on a user's head, specifically to such devices for holding sunglasses in place during athletic endeavors such as surfing, skiing, kayaking, and other activities.
2. Description of Prior Art
There are a number of devices that have been used in the past to hold eyewear in place more securely than the bows of such eyewear. There are a number of headband-type devices disclosed in the prior art for holding faceshields on the head of the wearer. For example, U.S. Pat. Nos. 2,588,553 (McWethy); 3,214,767 (Weber); and 3,214,768 (Bohner). The above devices are cumbersome, quite complex, and designed as protective gear such as welder's eyeshields rather than for eyeglasses or sunglasses.
Other known devices in the art used for holding eyeglasses in place include a rigid helmet apparatus disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 1,370,806 (Garner), an adjustable, semi-helmet apparatus disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 2,504,524 (Hayward), and an array of holding apparatuses using adjustable straps to be used with eyeglass frames. For example U.S. Pat. No. 3,502,396 (Greenburg), and U.S. Pat. No. 2,541,493 (Baroso). The usefulness of these strap apparatuses are quite limited in demanding applications such as surfing, windsurfing, skiing, kayaking, and other sports where tearing forces from wind and water rip and remove eyewear from the user's head notwithstanding these apparatuses.
Another type of eyewear retaining apparatus in the prior art is U.S. Pat. No. 4,479,703 (Enghofer) which discloses eyeglass frames with elastic cords which may be extended from the rearmost ends of the bows. The elastic cords include devices for connecting their exposed ends together. This apparatus, however, is not readily adaptable to existing eyeglass frames, nor does it address the problem of securing eyewear during athletic endeavors.
A still different approach taught in the prior art is disclosed in U.S. Pat. NO. 4,133,604 (Fuller) where an eyeglass retainer comprising an elastic strap having tubular end portions formed by sewing together opposite edges of the terminal portions of the strap. The tubular portions are slipped over the end of the bows and placed on the horizontal temples of a pair of glasses. This device is bulky, unattractive, and had limited usefulness in athletic endeavors where the eyeglasses are subject to sudden tearing and jarring forces. A variation on this device is seen in U.S. Pat. No. 4,657,364 (Murrell) where an elastic material is secured over the downwardly curved bows of glasses with an extending strap with mating pieces of hook and loop fastening material to secure the device behind the user's head. This device did not address the problem of securing eyewear to a user's head when subject to tearing, jarring, and upward forces against the eyewear. Therefore, it has limited usefulness in, for example, athletic activities such as surfing, windsurfing, skiing, kayaking and the like.
What is desired, therefore, is an improved device for retaining eyewear that is simple to use, inexpensive, secure, comfortable, and which can secure the eyewear to the head even when subject to sudden forces such as waves, winds and other impacts. The device also should hold the eyewear in place under various conditions and be resistant to becoming loose or dislodged accidently. Finally, the device should be useful with conventional eyeglasses, sunglasses, and the like, and be easily convertable to a form appropriate for less vigorous activities.